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Aspect Ratio for MLS and Free Lightroom Preset

Published: 17/10/2019

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

As a real estate photographer, it can be challenging to shoot real estate photos with the right composition and still achieve an aspect ratio required by most MLS. So, how do you handle delivering photos outside of landscape orientation? 

Recommended Aspect Ratio For MLS

MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service, which is an online database that helps realtors, agents and brokers facilitate the selling and buying of real estate properties. 

Woman taking a photo right in front of a house

One of the common rules in most MLS is that the real estate photos uploaded must have a standard landscape orientation. If you are a real estate photographer, that means you will need to shoot in 3:2 aspect ratio if you are using a mirrorless or DSLR camera, or 4:3 aspect ratio if using a micro-four-third camera

However, even if most digital cameras allow you to shoot in this landscape orientation, you might break the rule of thirds and get your composition wrong depending on the subject. The following Lightroom preset tips can help you get the right composition and aspect ratio during post-processing.   

Import the Photo in Lightroom

The first step is to import the photo you want to change to the aspect ratio in Lightroom. Launch Lightroom and then click on the Import button located above the filmstrip on the left-hand side of the interface. Alternatively, you can go to File on the left-hand corner and choose Import Photos and Video. 

If you are importing the photo from your computer’s hard drive, navigate to its location in the hard drive and then choose Add. Typically, this tells Lightroom to import the image for editing without changing its place in the storage.

Import the Preset

Lightroom doesn’t come with a built-in preset that can allow you to crop the image and still achieve the 3:2 landscape orientation. However, with a custom Lightroom preset, you can crop an image and still get the 3:2 aspect ratio or even shoot an image in portrait orientation and change it to landscape orientation. 

Real estate photo of a bathroom

Download this free print preset into your computer hard drive and note the file location of the downloaded file in your computer’s hard drive. You can then use the following steps to import the preset into Lightroom.

  1. Keeping in mind that you will have imported the photo in the Library Module, switch to Develop Module by pressing the D key on your keyboard
  2. Navigate to File, select Import and then choose the Develop Profiles and Presets option. 
  3. Open the presets folder and then choose the preset you just downloaded
  4. If you are using older Lightroom versions, go to Edit and then Preferences if you are using a PC or Lightroom and then Preferences if you are using a Mac.
  5. Choose the Presets tab and then select Show All Other Lightroom Presets or Show Lightroom Presets Folder, depending on the Lightroom version you are using.
  6. Go to the Develop Presets folder, and then copy and paste the preset you just downloaded into this folder
  7. Restart the app so the new preset can be visible and ready to use. You can simply exit the application and then open it to refresh. 

Apply the Preset

Generally, this is a print preset and allows you to print the image you have cropped or shot in portrait orientation into a JPEG file. You should, however, note that the Lightroom Print Module can be a little confusing as there is still an option of exporting to a JPEG file instead of printing to JPEG.  

When you apply this preset in the Print Module, you can then set the dimensions of the file to 30 inches by 20 inches with a resolution of around 72 pixels per inch. Typically, this preset adds a border to your cropped image or portrait to make a landscape orientation of a 3:2 aspect ratio. 

Fine-Tune the Settings

Different MLS might have different maximum file sizes that you can upload to their web pages. Keeping in mind that dimensions of 30 inches by 20 inches with a resolution of 72 pixels per inch will give you around 2000 pixels on the long edge, you can adjust the resolution to match your MLS maximum file size.

Man showing his camera to a woman working on her laptop

Simply navigate to the bottom panel on the right-hand side of the interface and then choose different dimensions as long as they give a 3:2 aspect ratio. Again, since most MLS web pages will have a white background, the preset adds a white border by default, making the border invisible when you upload the image.

However, if your MLS web page uses a different background color or you don’t mind the borders of your image showing, you can change the white background color by adjusting the background color options in the upper panel on the right-hand side of the interface.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use This Print Preset on Images Shot in 3:2 Landscape Orientation?

Yes, you can use the above print preset on images shot in 3:2 landscape orientation if you want to adjust the dimensions or resolution. Usually, the preset won’t add any white borders to the photo, and you will only enlarge it or make it smaller depending on the file size requirements of your MLS. 

Can I Get a 3:2 Aspect Ratio by Cropping? 

It’s possible to get an aspect ratio of 3:2 by cropping an image, both the height and the width if the initial image is in landscape orientation. However, if the image is in portrait orientation, you will need to crop the height and make it smaller than the width, which increases the chances of getting the wrong composition. 

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to handle photos outside the landscape 3:2 orientation can allow you to flip the cameras on its side and shoot images in portrait orientation or even crop the images for the best composition, and then edit in Lightroom and get the required 3:2 aspect ratio. 

Garey Gomez

9 comments on “Aspect Ratio for MLS and Free Lightroom Preset”

  1. Glad you found out you were giving misinformation about cropping in areas the mls has restrictions. Giving your clients images with borders is just as bad. Do not crop. Keep the ratio and pull the top bottom sides of the image to achieve your composition without any distortion in width or height. You keep the ratio have no borders leaving you with your approved composition.

  2. I grew up doing commercial photography, primarily for advertising, back when we shot on film and the images were printed on paper.

    Cropping tended to be dictated by the ad placement, page size, etc.

    Considering those restrictions we created compositions that fit the aspect ratio dictated by the art director or paper.

    That said, Garey's suggestion to crop to improve composition is great advise.

    However, rather than using the unlocked aspect ratio option, use the 3:2, or whatever aspect ratio is specified by the MLS, client or whomever. Use the compositional aids that are included with the crop tool. The compositional aids can be scrolled using "O" or Shift "O".

    Almost every real estate image has lots of dead space around the edges that can be used. Especially the ceiling at the top of the image.

    When shooting film I almost universally composed in camera with a little "breathing room" to accommodate crops other than the aspect ratio of the film stock. With digital, specially for RE shoots, its easy to do multiple, in-camera, compositions to accommodate different aspect ratios.

    If your client, or the MLS, has an aspect ratio restriction, I'd consider using transparent tape on the LCD to indicate the aspect ratio as a reminder.

    As always, One Man's View.

  3. @Dave Clark, I respectfully disagree. But as always, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I have not given any misinformation. Of course, external and personal factors can certainly make advice more or less effective for some than others. For example, I have seen you have taken a stance many times that the use of a flash is a waste of time and completely unnecessary, and then I heard the voices of those who disagree all around you (that is, before you exclude them from the conversation by kicking them out of your Facebook group). You surely have learned that there is no "one way" to get the job done, haven't you?

    I have heard more often than not, that the main reason photographers only deliver 3:2 landscape is not because of their MLS restrictions, but because, and I quote, "my clients want it this way". I have heard the same response about several choices, like whether to turn lights on or off, or whether to shoot tighter compositions vs. ultra-wide, or how much of a window view is necessary or aesthetically pleasing.

    I do not live all by myself on an island where there are no other photographers, and am able to make and live by my own rules. I live in a major US city; Atlanta. It's a very large market and I am in the heart of it. I don't do business in a suburb. I live IN THIS CITY. I have a thousand competitors who subscribe to the same run-of-the-mill, collect-your-paycheck process, and yet I do my own thing and deliver high quality images that don't look like anyone else's. I have a book of business that I have built BECAUSE OF my compositions and lighting, and cropping, and vertical compositions. Not in spite of it.

    To unequivocally say that adhering to a certain aspect ratio is the only proper way to compose is very short-sighted, at best.

    I give my advice from my standpoint, and from my experience. It is based on my own experimentation, successes, and failures. It's called perspective. I am not wrong, and neither are you. However, there is room for all of us, so you might try to exercise a little more tact so the conversation is productive.

    Thanks for sharing your perspective, Dave.

  4. Where I am, the MLS is not public facing. Buyers cannot browse listings that aren't curated for them by the agent they are working with. Given that, I'm not worried about their specific requirements if it's something like banning other than 3:2 ratios. What's more important is Zillow, Trulia, Realtor and other consumer facing sites where image quality is displayed to the people that it needs to go to.

    I agree that some images are going to look better with a different crop. An argument against it is the time it takes to prepare the new canvas that contains the odd crop. If the destination was something outside of the web/MLS, a specific crop could be a good idea. I'm thinking of printed brochures or books. Higher end properties that will have a custom website or images that an agent will be sending directly to a prospective buyer is another case.

    Given the choice between fixing a crop issue and providing a brochure ready to print/email, I believe that agents may find more value in the brochure. I can bang those out pretty fast with some templates I have built. I have to stress that I am not disagreeing that cropping the image doesn't make it better in some cases, I'm saying that the improvement may be lost on our customers or there can be other things we can do that solidify relationships that take the same or less time.

    BTW, I crop my portfolio images to arbitrary ratios.

  5. @CareyGomez I will be the adult here and not attack you. You are right we all have our own way of doing things. Accomplishing the 3:2 ratio without leaving borders can be done in a simple way by setting the cropping tool at the 3:2 ratio or pulling corners from the top or bottom to make your composition without any distortion. There are many who can take images without a flash however when the ambient light is present a flash is needed. As for my FaceBook Group when people break the guidelines they are not welcome to stay. If you disagree be nice and play fair and not attack someone for what they say based on experience.

  6. Correction:..... There are many who can take images without a flash however when the ambient light is NOT present a flash is needed.

  7. I crop for effect without regard to the ultimate WxH ratio. I almost always crop vertical orientation shots, usually to 4w x 5h. Maybe I am lucky. I have been shooting professionally for 12 years. I shoot for a number of high end realtors (several 4+ million listings in the last year) and have never had an agent mention image aspect ratio to me (there was one exception, a new agent and they said that vertical shots didn't fit into the brochure template they had created themselves - shortly thereafter, they modified the template to allow vertical images).

  8. @Dave Clark ...A few comments for you. First, when someone starts their rebuttal to a point that you've made, with: "I respectfully disagree..." (as Garey did in his comment to you) that does not constitute an "attack" on you, as you've claimed. The whole point of Garey's article was to express that he does not like to adhere rigidly to a 3x2 aspect ratio... that's it.

    Second, your point about "setting the cropping tool at the 3:2 ratio or pulling corners from the top or bottom to make your composition without any distortion", only makes sense if one is shooting UFWA and then cropping, in post. Even if that assumption is correct, cropping a shot does not magically correct distortion, as you've implied. For example, if you are in a very small dining room and you are wedged into a corner and have no more room to stand farther back, there's a very high probability that due to its proximity to the camera, the plane of the dining room table top is going to be sloping downward, the closer it gets to the edge of the frame. That is simply one of the realities/consequences of wide-angle distortion...and there is no amount of cropping that you can do to fix that.

    Finally, a word about your Facebook group...you claim that on your Facebook group, "when people break the guidelines they are not welcome to stay." This is simply not true. I have personally spoken to a number of photographers who were unceremoniously booted from your group, despite not breaking guidelines. They were apparently booted simply because they disagreed with a position you had taken. I'm also aware a numerous instances when you've stopped a comment-thread within your FB group, because you started getting rebuttals to the opinion you'd expressed in the OP. Dave it is your FB group...you can behave however you want to, in your moderator role, but please don't come here on PFRE and imply that *only* those who don't follow the guidelines are the ones who get kicked out, because that is simply not true.

  9. Well I asked for my comments to be erased but you seem very hot tempered. So I am going to capitalize on this ... please join 6,933 people in our group https://www.facebook.com/groups/PhotographyForRealEstate/ .

    People never want to take responsibility for their actions so they will point the finger at the people who they disagreed with and did not want to follow that groups rules. I am not the only one who has removed folks from our group because of their actions. There are 6 admins in the group. Tony Colangelo you are welcome to join. All we ask is to follow the rules...

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